Quickread
Alternate conceptions (often referred to as misconceptions) are learners’ beliefs about a concept that are overly simplified or inaccurate.
24 FEBRUARY 2022
Culturally relevant pedagogy is a framework that emphasises valuing all learners' knowledge, heritage and ways of learning. By drawing on students' own experiences and cultural knowledge you can ensure that the computing curriculum is relevant, engaging and accessible to all.
25 NOVEMBER 2021
Computing is a discipline rooted in three main traditions: engineering, maths and science. Depending on our own experience, we’re each likely to favour one or more of these perspectives, which can have an impact on how we present computing to our learners.
04 NOVEMBER 2021
Support learners to develop and apply programming skills and comprehension by applying them to a real-world, tangible project.
16 SEPTEMBER 2021
Support learners to consolidate their programming knowledge by applying it to real-world, tangible projects. This approach to teaching computing focuses on structuring the learning activities around the design, creation and evaluation of a digital artefact.
07 MAY 2021
Code Tracing supports the development of program comprehension by encouraging learners to read, understand and record the behaviour of a program at different stages of it's execution.
31 MARCH 2021
One tool that can help learners develop program comprehension is Parson’s Problems, which are exercises that require learners to rearrange lines of code into the correct sequence.
12 FEBRUARY 2021
Program comprehension has become recognised as an important step in learning to program. What exactly is program comprehension, why is it so important, and how can educators develop these skills with their learners?
30 OCTOBER 2020
PRIMM is an approach that can support teachers in structuring lessons in programming. In this quick read we explore the five stages of PRIMM and some of the research behind the approach.
24 SEPTEMBER 2020
Surveys and interviews are powerful tools for collecting data (usually qualitative) from participants. In this 2 page read we compare these similar approaches and highlight when each might be more appropriate.
25 JUNE 2020
In many research projects observing and recording student behaviour is a useful way to measure the impact of new ideas and approaches. In this quick read we explore structured and unstructured observation techniques as well a verbal observation approaches.
25 JUNE 2020
Current circumstance has had a profound impact on the way that education is delivered to students around the world. This quick read introduces some terms, frameworks, and barriers related to distance learning, and aims to support educators as they transition to online teaching.
28 APRIL 2020
Concept maps could be presented to learners to convey connections between concepts or created/completed by learners themselves. They can even be used to capture and assess pupil understanding.
17 MARCH 2020
Throughout computing, and in particular programming, there are many technical terms with precise technical meanings. This can frame expert knowledge as inaccessible to novice learners. Using semantic waves is one way to support novice learners in computing.
13 FEBRUARY 2020
A learner's first experience of a solution to a programming problem may in fact be the final program, polished, complete and error free. Live Coding is one approach to exposing learners to the full process of programming.
14 JANUARY 2020
Like many other teachers, I regularly used multiple choice questions in quizzes and tests, and viewed them primarily as a means of assessment. Peer Instruction turns this view on its head and instead uses multiple choice questions for teaching.
19 DECEMBER 2019
Collaborative working is effective in many curriculum areas, but a structured pair programming approach can support learners to develop programs and problem solve more successfully.
14 NOVEMBER 2019
Worked examples are a tool commonly used in a range of subjects including Maths and Science to support novice learners. By studying worked examples alongside the completion of traditional practice problems, learners are exposed to the problem solving process as well as frequently applied techniques. A well constructed worked example: * Helps reduce extraneous cognitive load on learners * Aids learners in assimilating new knowledge into their existing understanding * Is especially useful for
10 OCTOBER 2019
Busy teachers don’t always have the time to access, read, and assimilate pedagogy research into evidence-based practices, let alone begin to implement these practices in their classrooms. To help, we’re developing a series of bite-sized Pedagogy Quick Reads.
12 SEPTEMBER 2019